Kooza

As a concept, Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza offers a show that is more along traditional circus lines, no animals of course (but it does have a performer in a cute dog suit), plenty of thrills, edge-of-your-seat tension, and just enough European whimsy to make it a worthy addition to their worldwide franchise. Created in 2007 by ex-clown David Shriner, Kooza mixes familiar genre tropes; acrobats, contortionists, aerialists, with a spectacular set, non-stop music, showgirl-glitz costumes, and risqué clowning. All of which makes it perfect family entertainment.

I lost count of the number of oohs and aahs the performers induced along with the whistles, feet stomping and applause.

The hire-wire act from Spain and Colombia, which saw the aerialists riding bicycles on a tightrope balancing a chair and poles was awe-inspiring, likewise the Colombian duo Jimmy Ibarra and Ronald Solis with their truly death-defying and exceedingly dangerous “Wheel of Death”. A trio of Mongolian female contortionists twisted their bodies into unbelievable positions, petite Russian Irina Akimova manipulated a dozen hoops with razor sharp precision, whilst the finale’s “Teeterboard” had acrobats on stilts somersaulting off catapults in a show of extreme and amazing co-ordination.

Kooza’s wisp of a story - a kite-flying innocent introduced to the carnivale by a sleight-of-hand trickster – was impressivly realised commedia dell’arte style by Vladislav Zolotarev as the innocent and Mike Tyus as the MC. The trio of clowns headed by Ghislain Ramage as the King, and Miguel Berlanga and Michael Garner were especially effective in their audience participation slapstick routines which frequently had the house in uproar.

A six-piece band under Carl Murr’s direction sounded more like twenty with strong back-up work by former Adelaide drummer Ben Todd who rightly earned his own solo spot out front. Kooza maintains Cirque du Soleil’s lavish production style and whilst the acts may not be new, the performances of them are. With everyone adding their own special and individual lustre to the show the end bows became a line-up of stars instead of the usual faceless ensemble. It’s what made Kooza unique.

Peter Pinne

Photographer: Matt Beard